Letters to the editor, 6/22

Equality Act is about controlling women

In Gov. Andrew Cuomo's women's rights agenda there are many outstanding changes needed. Gov. Cuomo lacks appreciation for women's health in advocating abortion on demand, which may be performed by non-physicians at any term of pregnancy and could possibly cause loss of life or other health issues for women.

Note - on page 254 of a book written about Steve Jobs by author Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs comments, "I wanted to meet my biological mother mostly to see if she was OK and to thank her, because I'm glad I didn't end up as an abortion. She was twenty-three and she went through a lot to have me."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's bill is about controlling women and not about women's rights. A woman and the life in her should not be subject to such abuse as this part of Gov. Cuomo's bill.

Walter F. Clegg

LaGrangeville

Commission bios omit links to big corporations

The brief biographies provided by the Public Service Commission in the Poughkeepsie Journal's June 14 article, ("Who made the Fortis Decision?"), omit the corporate experience of several commissioners.

A visit to the PSC website, www.dps.ny.gov, reveals that the brief biography of Chairman Garry Brown omits his experience with Sithe Energies.

The PSC site itself fails to mention that Brown served as "Manager, Government and Market Relations" for Sithe, a subsidiary of Dynegy from 1995 to 2002, as reported in the New York Observer on Feb. 9, 2009.

The brief biography of Commissioner Gregg Sayre omits his experience as an attorney for Rochester Telephone and for Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone.

Yes, the biography of Commissioner James Larocca mentions his service as chairman and trustee of the Long Island Power Authority - better known to many New Yorkers as LIPA - and that he has been "held over" because his term expired on Feb. 1, 2012.

Another holdover since February 1, 2012, Maureen Harris, resigned on May 30. With a little investigative reporting, the Poughkeepsie Journal might have discovered an article in the Watertown Daily Times on Dec. 12 noting that Ms. Harris is married to John S. Harris, "an attorney representing BP Wind Energy in its proposed Cape Vincent Wind Farm Project."

Is it time to change the name of the Public Service Commission? It's become doublespeak.

Phyllis Marsteller

Rhinebeck

Boy Scouts decision was driven by a clear agenda

In response to the Boy Scouts of America's recent decision to allow openly gay boys to become members, this isn't a new issue.

The change is being driven by a clear agenda: Simply put, a person's sexual identity should trump all other identifying factors and should be the controlling influence in all of life's decisions.

The goal has now morphed into a demand for moral supremacy and not just equivalency.

Rather than working towards an equal voice in the marketplace of ideas, we're being forced to agree with the "rightness" of the cause, and we're called "evil" when we disagree.

We are confronted with manipulation, intimidation, domination, and destruction.

Continued refusal to knuckle under at one stage means the next step is used. Groups founded on Christian ideals are targeted.

We are demonized through vocabulary. Rhetoric calls me an angry white male, homophobic, right-wing radical. No one who knows me would describe me that way; that's not who I am!

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, brave, and reverent. You can bet these words will be redefined, and new merit badges will follow.

Christians remain loyal to Christ. From this perspective, I view human sexuality and every other aspect of life.

In keeping with a founding principle of the world you want to create, please celebrate tolerance by encouraging me to be true to my identity.

I'm thankful for the Boy Scouts of America and what it meant to me as a boy.

The memories remain fond, and that will never change.

Tim Millard

pastor, Bridge Builders Community Church, Hyde Park

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Letters to the editor, 6/22

In Gov. Andrew Cuomo's women's rights agenda there are many outstanding changes needed.